Tag: Report

Civilian casualties in Iraq rose by 50% during the last three months, according to a report released by the Pentagon. The report on security and stability in Iraq examined the sectarian violence that grips the country, saying ?Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq? but that the fighting does not meet the ?strict? definition of a civil war.

Amnesty International has referred to some of Israel’s actions in Lebanon as “war crimes that give rise to individual criminal responsibility.” A report by the human rights organization condemned the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure and the loss of civilian life, noting: “Entire families were killed in air strikes on their homes or in their vehicles while fleeing the aerial assaults on their villages ... as the Red Cross and other rescue workers were prevented from accessing the areas by continuing Israeli strikes.”

A congressional report warned that there are “significant gaps” in America’s understanding of Iran’s WMDs capabilities—and even questioned if we are able to engage in meaningful talks with Tehran on ways to diffuse tensions.

An Apple Computer audit of labor conditions at an iPod factory in China uncovered employees working longer hours than permitted by its code of conduct. Auditors also said that workers earned ?at least the local minimum wage?—whatever that may be in Longhua, China.

Truthdig salutes Rep. John Conyers Jr., a Democrat who has compiled and released a 371-page report that attempts to detail every alleged instance of wrongdoing that the Bush administration made during the run-up, prosecution and aftermath of the war in Iraq.

Check out the best of this week’s Truthdig-flavored videos. Among them: Scottish MP George Galloway ripping into a Sky News anchor; a 1960s TV reporter sounding off on the threat of sexual perversion; and antiwar vet Paul Hackett showing up Stephen Colbert.

The Hammer has his hands full defending himself in court, but he?s still on the ballot in Texas, so Stephen Colbert was kind enough to make a campaign ad for him. The prayer Tom DeLay says he made before having his mug shot taken, that ?people see Christ through me,? serves as the inspiration for the ad.

The ex-Senate candidate and Iraq War vet Paul Hackett asked Stephen Colbert, “Do you really think we’re going to spread democracy with the business end of an M-16?” Colbert’s response was classic. Check it out.

Emboldened by Castros ailing health, Stephen Colbert has concocted a plan for the invasion of Cuba, featuring cruise liners filled with obese Americans and the ғregime-destroying power of the outlet mall. ԓMy proposal is controversial, but weve invaded for less,Ҕ the host said as he pitched his vision for a post-Castro world.

Stephen Colbert, in his endlessly entertaining mission to interview every member of Congress, sat down with D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton on Thursday. While she might not have gotten the joke, the congresswoman demonstrated great patience as she and Colbert argued over whether Washington, D.C., is part of the United States.

Linguists beware; Stephen Colbert has invented a new word: “democrazy.” As the host explains, ?there was a time when I thought the key to Middle East peace was representative government, but then democracy gives us a prime minister who sides with Hezbollah, an Iranian president who wants to go nuclear, and a Palestinian government controlled by Hamas. So, now, I?m thinking maybe we did the wrong thing.?

William Donohue, executive director of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, began his appearance on “The Colbert Report” on Tuesday by swiping at the host with a ruler. After Colbert confiscated the ruler, Donohue went on to hit a home run for tolerance by challenging the nativity of Native Americans and the motives of Hollywood Jews.

As violence once again wracks that troubled region, “The Colbert Report” host reminds us that the 2006 Miss Universe Pageant is this weekend. “Let’s forget about the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, and focus instead on the competition between Miss Israel and Miss Lebanon.”

Stephen Colbert tells author Ron Suskind that Vice President Cheney’s so-called “One Percent Doctrine”—whereby a one percent chance of terrorists obtaining WMDs must be treated as a certainty—is “soft on terror.”

Colbert: “One percent? Shouldn’t it be a zero percent doctrine? I mean even if there’s no chance that someone’s a threat to the United States, and they just look at us funny, shouldn’t we just—[beats a fist into his palm]—tag ‘em?”

No matter how silly Stephen Colbert makes politicians look on his show, an appearance on “The Colbert Report” is the best (and maybe the only) way to make young voters pay attention and respond to their representatives in Congress, according to The Washington Times.

To raise funds for his legal defense, Tom DeLay is showcasing a clip of Stephen Colbert “defending” DeLay against the allegations in an anti-DeLay documentary. DeLay’s only hope is that his contributors are too dim to realize that Colbert is a satirist.

Amnesty International’s report says the U.S. has failed to eradicate “widespread” torture in its jails in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba. Also, no senior U.S. officials have been held accountable for the practices.

The presidential spokesman won’t say at what point the president learned of a Pentagon report which concluded that Iraqi weapons trailers discovered after the invasion were not—as Bush later claimed—WMD factories.No wonder McClellan won’t answer. This could amount to proof positive that Bush outright lied about WMD.

The U.S. Embassy and military in Baghdad issued a revealing province by province report of Iraq’s political, economic and security situation. The “Provincial Stability Assessment” paints a gloomy picture of intensifying sectarian and ethnic frictions and growing instability in many of the provinces profiled. Funny, our leaders always say how well things are going…

Two respected researchers have touched off a firestorm with their report arguing that America’s pro-Israel lobby has badly damaged the United States’ strategic interests. Check out this Truthdig report on the reactions from all sides of the debate.

The Washington Times (of all publications) says that a new government report claims the White House “never drew up a comprehensive plan for rebuilding Iraq” after the 2003 invasion.
In the last week, Bush has lost:

In the wake of a U.N. report condemning the U.S. treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the U.N. secretary-general says America must shut down the prison “as soon as possible.” U.S. officials react about as you might expect.
Earlier: Read about the former U.S. interrogator whose book blew the lid off inhumane practices at Gitmo.Update: From the Jordan Times (via Watching America): “It is immensely sad that the U.S. should end up imitating the worst aspects of the very systems it says it wants to ‘democratize.’”